Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Teresa  Kane

JR Boning (Ireland) Limited

Representatives

Self-represented

No attendance  

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00067573-001

21/11/2024

The complainant submitted a complaint that she was entitled to a redundancy payment having worked for the respondent for 20 years. The respondent did not attend the hearing although made a submission prior to the hearing.

Summary of Ms Kane’s Evidence

The complainant gave testimony that she commenced employment with the respondent in August 2004. She submitted in evidence a handbook she signed in August 2004. This was at the request of the then manager. She said she worked on a turkey farm in Meadowbank, Kellistown, County Carlow, from August 2004 up to its closure in March 2024. She worked 39 hours per week and sometimes could work 7-days a week. She worked from early summer to Christmas most years and sometimes worked into the new year. Her last working week ended on 17th December 2023.

When her employment ended at the closure of the season in 2023 she was earning €650 per week. She was not informed that the farm was due to close permanently. When she discovered the closure in August 2024, she wrote to the respondent seeking a redundancy payment. As she did not receive a response, she referred the matter to the WRC. She put into evidence three payslips of 31st January 2022, 7th February 2022 and 14th February 2022 which confirmed she was paid €600 gross per week. She said her weekly earnings increased to €650 after 2022. She put into evidence her earnings per year since 2004 as per her accountant.

Her last three years earnings were-

2021 €16,450

2022 €8,400

2023 €15,480

She said she only received a P45 after each season in the first few years and then did not get anything. She said she did not get regular payslips.

A representative of the respondent, Mr Joe Rice, made a submission to the WRC on 14th January 2025, stating that the complainant was issued with a P45 after each season. The submission contained two sample contracts from 2018 and 2019. The submission confirmed that the turkey farm closed in March 2024. The submission stated that records were not available for previous years although stated that the following periods were worked by the complainant-

03/04/2018 to 06/02/2019- 10 months

15/07/2019 to 21/12/2019- 5 months

29/06/2020 to 12/02/2021- 8 months

23/08/2021 to 22/04/2022- 8 months

01/08/2022 to 19/12/2022-4 months

25/06/2023 to 17/12/2023-6 months

A representative of the respondent did not attend the hearing. I am satisfied that the respondent was on notice of the hearing date.

The Law

The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 sets out the general right to a redundancy payment.

Section 7(1) provides:

“An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short-time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as redundancy payment provided— (a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and (b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment, or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of four years ending on that date”.

Section 7(5) of the Acts provides:

“In this section requisite period means a period of 104 weeks continuous employment (within the meaning of Schedule 3) . . . .”

Section 7(2) of the Acts provides:

“For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if for one or more reasons not related to the employee concerned the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to— (a) the fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed . . . .”

Dismissal by employer.

9.—(1) For the purposes of this Part an employee shall, subject to this Part, be taken to be dismissed by his employer if but only if—

(a) the contract under which he is employed by the employer is terminated by the employer, whether by or without notice, or

(b) where, under the contract under which the employee is employed by the employer the employee is employed for a fixed term or for a specified purpose (being a purpose of such a kind that the duration of the contract was limited but was, at the time of its making, incapable of precise ascertainment), that term expires or that purpose ceases without being renewed under the same or similar contract, or

Schedule 3- Continuous Employment

5. Where an employee’s period of service has been interrupted by any one of the following—

(a) any period by reason of—

(i) sickness,

(ii) lay-off,

(iii) holidays,

(iv) service by the employee in the Reserve Defence Forces of the State,

(v) any cause (other than the voluntary leaving of the employment concerned by the employee) not mentioned in clauses (i) to (iv) but authorised by the employer,

continuity of employment shall not be broken by such interruption whether or not notice of termination of the contract of employment has been given.

Reckonable service under the Redundancy Act 1967 as amended is detailed at Schedule 3:

8. During, and only during, the 3-year period ending with the date of termination of employment, none of the absences shall be allowable as reckonable service-

(a)…..

(b)…..

(c) absence by reason of lay-off by the employer.

Finding

I am satisfied that the there was a genuine redundancy as the turkey farm closed in March 2024, as outlined by the complainant in testimony and as confirmed by the respondent in the submission to the WRC.

On the complainant’s entitlement to a redundancy payment, the respondents submitted that her employment was terminated each year/season. Therefore, the respondent seems to be indicating that the employment terminated prior to the farm closing in March 2024. The respondent did not submit any further evidence or attend the hearing to clarify the validity of their assertion that the employment ended after each season.

I am not satisfied with the respondent’s submission that the complainant was not entitled to a redundancy payment for the following reasons.

The employee handbook states at 8.6 page 22 as follows-

‘The business is seasonal by its very nature. Consequently, at certain times, lay offs, short time working and redundancies may be necessary. On the other hand, at peak times overtime, shift, weekend work may be necessary. In the event of such lay offs, short time working and/or redundancies, the Companies, at its discretion, will maintain a reasonable balance between retaining employees with the necessary skills to carry on the business to be done while taking account of other factors such as seniority and other factors as may be discussed between the parties at the time.’

The complainant had continuous employment each season for 20-years and therefore had attained seniority within the employment. She was effectively a regular employee although did not work for several months each year due to the nature of the business. This is consistent with the complainant’s testimony that she worked every year for 20-years and was effectively a permanent employee although did not work for several months each year.

Through the extended years of employment, the complainant had assumed rights to a contract of indefinite duration in accordance with the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term) Work Act 2003.

Under Schedule 3, section 5 of the Redundancy Act, the complainant can be in ‘continuous employment’ whether notice of lay off was given or not. Therefore, when the turkey farm closed in March 2024, the complainant was dismissed by her employer due to redundancy, as per 9(1)(b) of the Act.

For the reasons outlined, I allow the complainant’s appeal and find that she is entitled to a statutory lump sum payment under the Act.

I allow the complainant’s appeal and find that she is entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2012 based on the following criteria:

-Date of commencement of employment- 4th August 2004

-Date of termination 17th December 2023

-Gross weekly wage €650 which is capped for redundancy purposes at €600

-Non-reckonable break in service for the three years ending up to 17th December 2023, as per Schedule 3, section 8, are the periods not worked outside of the following-

29/06/2020 to 12/02/2021- 8 months

23/08/2021 to 22/04/2022- 8 months

01/08/2022 to 19/12/2022-4 months

25/06/2023 to 17/12/2023-6 months

The award is made subject to the complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period.    

Redundancy